Lionsgate | Release Date: September 16, 2016
4.9
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Mixed or average reviews based on 190 Ratings
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70
Negative:
62
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4
HelloWorld2012Sep 17, 2016
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The movie is the epitome of what's wrong with modern horror movies. The audio is so overproduced. There's a moment where a character looks at another one strangely and there's a loud ADR scream to create a jump scare from nothing. To that point there's tons of other jump scares that use loud audio bangs or screams to create a "scare". This is to the point where one character says, "stop doing that. As if it's some meta, "lulz we scared you", thing. Then the film continues with loud banging jump scares with something not frightening happening on screen as the only source of "horror". It ditches the fake jump scares and gets to the "real" ones. Thankfully the last act avoids jump scares but that does not make it any better as I'll get to it.

The camerawork is another overproduced mess when certain jump scares occur near the end. Things have gotten real so the characters obviously need to run and shake the camera since it's a found footage movie. I have no problem with found footage or shakiness but on top of both they have to add glitches and ghosting to digital footage to amp up the terror I guess (which the effect does not do at all imo while making no sense at the same time).

The movie is practically a remake of the events of the first film except for a modern setting and done in a modern horror style. The main characters have little development and flip flop on what little traits and thoughts they have up until the end of the movie where it gets them killed. Moreover, the last act of the movie is not crazy or "mindblowing". I expected neither going in, and that's what I got, but I'm putting this as a warning since reviews and people are saying otherwise. If you've played or watched a playthrough of P.T., or pretty much any modern horror game, some of the end will be a retread on ideas in those. If you've seen the Descent or any other cave diving horror films, if there are any other than the Cave, then another section will be a retread. The actual end is terrible as well as the characters say what will get them killed and then proceed to do said thing literally seconds later.

The good part of the movie, and the only thing that makes it unique, is how it introduces some neat new time ideas to the Blair Witch mythos in the last half of the film. The time stuff is very cool, and there's a lot of hints and small details to it, but it's such a small nugget to the movie. If just hearing that there's time stuff in the movie interests you should watch the film but don't expect it to blow you away.
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1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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6
jrodfilmsSep 16, 2016
for a movie that doesnt even need to exist, it is pretty good for what it is. but it is just an updated version of the original. so if you love the original you will like some moments here, with that 2016 addition.
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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6
NerdConsultantSep 19, 2016
in all honesty, I actually thought the film was ok. Maybe my standards are a bit too low, but it really does to me, seem like there was a lot more love and care put into this film. It didn’t feel like a cash grab which I was expecting it toin all honesty, I actually thought the film was ok. Maybe my standards are a bit too low, but it really does to me, seem like there was a lot more love and care put into this film. It didn’t feel like a cash grab which I was expecting it to be. The film makers seem to have done their research and whoever designed the sets for this film did an excellent job. To wrap things up, Blair Witch was a better film than I was expecting. There are some decent scares and some alright cinematography, the acting isn’t too bad, some of the effects are downright good and I daresay it feels like the film makers had a lot of love for the original film and wanted to put their spin on it, which I have got to commend them for. It’s not a perfect sell however, the film does suffer from a plot that has some plot holes and there are a couple of really stupid moments and this film tries to get away with a lot of horror tropes that didn’t benefit the film in the end and were entirely absent from the original Blair Witch for a reason.
Fans of the original should not pass this up. It is actually worth a watch at least once and if you are curious, I would definitely recommend you check it out. I won’t say rush to see it though I suspect it will have a lengthy run and will probably last until Halloween. You might wish to wait until it comes out on Netflix but I will say on any level, it’s definitely worth a watch.
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1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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4
moviemitch96Sep 16, 2016
Deciding to market this under a false title (The Woods) and even going so far as to release posters, promos, trailers, etc bearing this title a couple months before revealing it's true identity at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con was a cleverDeciding to market this under a false title (The Woods) and even going so far as to release posters, promos, trailers, etc bearing this title a couple months before revealing it's true identity at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con was a clever move on Lionsgate and director Adam Wingard's part. It succeeded at getting me, and I'm sure many others, pretty amped up and excited for an unexpected return to the creepy and mysterious Blair Witch mythology many of us came to know and love from the original film. Seeing also that it would serve as a much more rightful sequel than the dreadfully awful Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 did, needless to say I had very high hopes that this would deliver and bring some long-awaited justice to the original and unnerving nature of the first film. Unfortunately, this film's secret marketing strategy ultimately proved to be the most exciting aspect of the film, because the actual film itself was truly a disappointment. While not as near as terrible as Book of Shadows, in terms of hype and anticipation, this film failed miserably at living up to either. It simply took advantage of today's latest and greatest technology (drones, ear-mounted cameras, etc) and stuck disappointingly close to the original's formula. Overall, while there were a handful of tense moments (particularly in the final 20 minutes but even that ended abruptly and disappointingly,) this film simply failed to deliver or successfully build upon the original and its effectiveness, which is kinda sad considering many of us waited 15+ years for an at least halfway decent continuation, but I guess even that proved too difficult to follow through with. Expand
4 of 5 users found this helpful41
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6
BrianMcCriticSep 17, 2016
A decent sequel to an overrated horror classic. I realize I'm in the minority when it comes to The Blair Witch Project but I never understood the hype. Just a lot of running around and noises in the dark. The sequel is similar but at leastA decent sequel to an overrated horror classic. I realize I'm in the minority when it comes to The Blair Witch Project but I never understood the hype. Just a lot of running around and noises in the dark. The sequel is similar but at least they try to add some different twists. I'll give them credit for that. B- Expand
3 of 4 users found this helpful31
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4
KadeemluvmusicSep 19, 2016
Geez, Hollywood loves to make franchises. I knew Blair Witch couldn't make a cent out of the original classic. When I saw the new trailer for an obscure title named "The Woods," I was totally freaked out and I thought this was the best horrorGeez, Hollywood loves to make franchises. I knew Blair Witch couldn't make a cent out of the original classic. When I saw the new trailer for an obscure title named "The Woods," I was totally freaked out and I thought this was the best horror movie ever, but I was let down by the news that it's going to be renamed as "Blair Witch." And I was like: "What? WTF! Really, Lionsgate?" I thought this franchise was dead and buried after that s**tty "Book Of Shadows" sequel that is so awful, I could barely watch it on the Sci-Fi Channel. And thank goodnees, they didn't even mentioned a third Blair Witch and it was dead on arrival. And now we're here, 16 years later. Let's face it, the new Blair Witch is a 'Meh' for me. It didn't even have enough scares to make this sort-of reboot very unneccessary. I saw the film last Thursday and I saw a little teenie-weenie amount of people see the movie. Like I saw, it was not good. The ending was alright, but I felt it didn't need to be trimmed apart and I do give credit to the director of the film who been able to give a long dormant franchise and giving it a shot at either make a delightful successor to the one that pedigreed the "Found Footage" genre or turned it into a reboot. Unfortunately, nah. I'm sticking with the 3 horror movies that is able to be a success of their own: "The Conjuring 2," Light's Out," and "Don't Breathe." Blair Witch is exactly a doomed franchise. No scares equals a sober reminder of how stupid a beloved original nolstalgia turned into a crummy remake can be. Expand
5 of 8 users found this helpful53
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6
IndieFreakSep 25, 2016
Blair Witch has a few interesting ideas, but the constant jump-scares, weak characters and a predictable ending make it feel like every other mediocre horror movie out there.
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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5
TheQuietGamerOct 18, 2017
Did you watch The Blair Witch Project and wish there was a little more going on? If so then this might be the movie for you. Director Adam Wingard basically sets out to remake the original classic, only this time with more traditionalDid you watch The Blair Witch Project and wish there was a little more going on? If so then this might be the movie for you. Director Adam Wingard basically sets out to remake the original classic, only this time with more traditional thrills. It goes for more than just creepy sounds in the woods and watching the characters break under paranoia and fear. Not necessarily a bad idea, but this sequel misses the point entirely. It needed more of what makes the original so well-respected and perhaps some actual fear to go with it.

One thing that becomes immediately noticeable is how loud the film is. For whatever reason, Wingard seems obsessed in the opening chapter of the film to try and freak us out with noisy cutouts and entrances to the next shot. It makes it clear that Blair Witch is going for cheap theatrics right from the get go. Everything that follows is predictable. You have your standard jump scares that you can see coming from a mile away, as well as reshoots of those tense "what was that sound?" moments from the original that fall flat because of how overblown they are here. Every twig snapping sounds instead like a tree falling. Wingard seems to have missed out on how creepy the more quiet sounds were in the original, so he turns up the volume in every scene.

Not everything is bad in Blair Witch though. I have to give it some credit for trying to expand upon the lore and up the weirdness a bit. The real display of the witches power is pretty neat, if ultimately ineffective at instilling fear. Of course the setting is still great and the extended exploration of the creepy house from the end of the original is something I enjoyed. Particulary for those underground tunnel scenes. The characters are also well done. Great acting from the entire cast. The reasoning behind getting them to go to the woods is dumb, but at least it makes it clear that this is a sequel and not a remake/reboot. Speaking of dumb, the characters have a way of becoming total morons in the final act. Adam Wingard doesn't seem to get why The Blair Witch Project worked. Granted, I would have loved to see the excellent tension, concept, and atmosphere in that movie capatilized on with some big frights, the rather generic approach here causes things to fall short. The scary moments are so overly telegraphed that they lose any impact long before they finally arrive. The twists on moments from the original are disappointing and show a complete misunderstanding of the source material. As a result, none of the creepiness is captured here. It's efforts to expand on the strangeness of the character's situations is easily the best part. Blair Witch lays some groundwork for somebody else to come in and try to get the idea right. Because the first movie's ability to freak you out and this movie's big-scare mentality could come together to create something truly terrifying by capitalizing making up for the shortcomings both of them have. As it stands, Blair Witch is middling and a missed opportunity.

5.5/10
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4
Jim222001Jun 15, 2017
I like this director but is better when he does original films like You're Next and the Guest. I am tired of camera shaking found footage movies. Plus if you saw the original, then you saw this movie pretty much.
I was hoping for something
I like this director but is better when he does original films like You're Next and the Guest. I am tired of camera shaking found footage movies. Plus if you saw the original, then you saw this movie pretty much.
I was hoping for something different but there's way too much of the same movie. Without knowing what the hell is going on most the time. I probably would have liked it more of it wasn't a found footage film.
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6
Muskrat147Sep 18, 2016
Even with its seemingly identical structure to that of the original, Blair Witch will surprise many with its thrills and scares, as well as its fantastic ending.
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5
DirigiblePulpDec 7, 2016
The only reason this movie had any glimmer of hope was that of director Adam Wingard, who after You're Next and The Guest could do no wrong, at least within the genre community. This was an interesting choice for him to break mainstream andThe only reason this movie had any glimmer of hope was that of director Adam Wingard, who after You're Next and The Guest could do no wrong, at least within the genre community. This was an interesting choice for him to break mainstream and on paper probably made sense. However, the combination of this film NOT actually fitting Wingard's talents and the general feeling that Blair Witch is an un-sequelizable film fed its own demise. The proverbial lightning in a bottle, as it were, cryptically out of reach.

What the movie really suffers from, is a lack of ingenuity and uniqueness. Not just within the confined realm of the opaque "Blair Witch" mythology (if anything, it should have resisted that ghoulish urge) but also within the dried-out decrepit husk of the found-footage film.

Wingard doesn't try to bring anything new to tried and true conventions (or wasn't allowed, but who knows), so much as apply a little muster on top of it to hope it works one last time. It mostly doesn't. Half the scares are tediously obvious, the other half mostly unknowable sudden explosions of noise or movement (the "jump" scare, a term used too loosely to signify any attempt at fraying the audience's nerves. There's a right way to do it, and sparingly, ask Johhny C).

The little bits of mythology (those wooden figures, standing in the corner, etc) are overused, though thankfully not expanded upon. There's a hint at something new in the form of a cut on the bottom of one woman's foot, but this winds up not amounting to much, at least in terms of pay-off, tension or surprise.

The ending actually contains some myriad degrees of tension, truly earned and the result of well-shot and constructed scenes. But again, there's no payoff. They don't mean much, especially the blistering ending which seems to be leading to a great movie-style haunted house freak-out traverse before suddenly cutting to black by way of a baffling character decision.

Maybe Wingard isn't meant to be a straight-forward terror machine, he prefers his comedy and his genre machinations. He also prefers well-thought out soundtracks (and at least in The Guest, some elaborate set decoration and lighting). This isn't the first time a horror director has faltered trying to re-establish a dormant franchise, or by sticking their hand in the found-footage garbage disposal.
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6
LeZeeJan 14, 2017
The history repeats, and so the story in some sequel films!

This is the third film is the 'Blair Witch' film series, but the second film from the story perspective. Anyway, I haven't seen the other sequel, you do not have to be familiar with
The history repeats, and so the story in some sequel films!

This is the third film is the 'Blair Witch' film series, but the second film from the story perspective. Anyway, I haven't seen the other sequel, you do not have to be familiar with that to follow this one. So I saw it, but what I thought is, basically this film is exactly same as the first film. Just the characters and timeline changed, that's all.

They had nothing much of choice, so the story was repeated with the modern equipments. A new set of people, including a brother of one of those went missing two decades ago, heads to the same woods to investigate. But soon they all begin to witness strange, horrifying events. Now it becomes their survival game of getting out safe from there, but would they? Is what the film's end to notify us.

If you are a horror genre fan, particularly about the killing stuffs, then you might enjoy it. Other than that it was not scary, well, it was not for me. The today's generation might enjoy it better, but if you are like above 30 and already saw the original, this will be an average or trash. So young people should watch it. For me, it was okay, because I was not expecting anything from it. So I hope they end it here, no to another sequel or the reboot.

6/10
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4
oDjentoOct 25, 2016
This film was a real disappointment. It loses all sense of dread and suspense by giving in to horror movie cliches, gratuitous jump scares and average acting (the female lead is alright though). Last act gets pretty intense but apart fromThis film was a real disappointment. It loses all sense of dread and suspense by giving in to horror movie cliches, gratuitous jump scares and average acting (the female lead is alright though). Last act gets pretty intense but apart from that this horror film was a joke.

3.5/10
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6
badgerryan19May 19, 2017
The sequel/reboot to the incredibly successful "The Blair Witch Project" comes "Blair Witch". With a established franchise and a proven director comes on the scene. Now there is a lot to Iike here. The performances were all very good. ThereThe sequel/reboot to the incredibly successful "The Blair Witch Project" comes "Blair Witch". With a established franchise and a proven director comes on the scene. Now there is a lot to Iike here. The performances were all very good. There were some genuinely scary/nail biting moments, but with most of that coming in the final 20 minutes. The movie has some unnecessary jump scares that take you out of the moment. The audio in the movie was fantastic. Whoever worked on that well done. So with good performances and some genuinely scary moments but unfortunately most in the final moments and some dumb jump scares make it a mixed bag. Expand
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5
PipeCOct 24, 2016
Literally, The Forest Is A Headache

Just as the Blair Witch manipulates time perception, the film also can do it. The amount of time that has been since it was inadvertently premiered at Sundance in 1999 seems illusory, a product not only
Literally, The Forest Is A Headache

Just as the Blair Witch manipulates time perception, the film also can do it. The amount of time that has been since it was inadvertently premiered at Sundance in 1999 seems illusory, a product not only revolutionized the world of horror and suspense film but also diversified marketing parameters imposed in the 1990s. Based on the anomalous acceptance at the American festival, it achieved its official release in movie theaters months later, causing an impressive media boom. It took 17 years for a praiseworthy sequel (omitting filmic outburst of Joe Berlinger in 2000 with "Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows") landed into the forests of Burkittsville, Maryland.

Allegorically, "Blair Witch" (2016) is not a sequel, nor a reboot, the new story of Lionsgate can become a remake, an update of classic from 1999 with high-tech cameras, more budget, a consolidated popular legend and a duo director/screenwriter specializing in the genre, however, the movie backs down when tries to venture into foreign territories to the original, strictly restricting itself to the template of Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. With the exception of some provocative and stifling horror sequences, the apparent sequel is little more than a 'hand-held camera' experiment properly done.

Written by Simon Barrett ("V/H/S/2") and directed by Adam Wingard ("You're Next" - "The Guest"), "Blair Witch" continues the story of the Bell Witch based on the events that occurred in the first film. Through a bloodcurdling chase uploaded on Youtube by 'Darknet666', James (James Allen McCune), the younger brother of Heather - female main role from original movie - achieves to identify to his vanished sister, therefore, with his unconditional girlfriend, Lisa (Callie Hernandez), a filmmaker friend, Peter (Brandon Scott), and his respective girlfriend (victim), Ashley (Corbin Reid) heads toward the leafy and legendary American forest, with conventional digital cameras and GPS-equipped phones to go deep into the most intrinsic of hell.

Well, let's start with the main thing. Filmed in Los Angeles, California and Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, we return to forests which gave rise to the first encounter with the aggressive poltergeist, crystalline river and tall and dry trees providing an unusual air, since, according to what we saw in the first film, the chosen season for the shooting was autumn, in this case, on account of the greenery of trees seems to indicate that they are in the spring. Selected cast uses again the original strategy, they all are completely unknown in the current film scene, including the dark couple added to the excursion, Lane (Wes Robinson) and Talia (Valorie Curry), responsible for the video on Youtube.

It discerns of brilliant marketing from the first film, in which affirmed that the authors of the documentary found in the forest were missing, implying that the videotapes are true; 2016's update opted for mislead to the public with a more corporate purpose, preventing that any type of info about the unexpected sequel was leaked. For obvious reasons, it can no longer play with the minds of the audience saying that it is a found tape - this trick worked because was the beginning of the 'found footage'-, nor affirming that its characters are missing. It was in the Comic-Con 2016, where they revealed that the movie titled "The Woods" - a title of work- was actually a secret sequel of "The Blair Witch Project", a smart and functional marketing strategy.

It abounds in the genre cliches, emphasizing original. A group of college students venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland, they camp one night, satanic twigs appear from nowhere, they decide to flee, get lost in the forest, tragedies occur, limited cast find that spooky house, thundering and simply copy sequence, tend. It is incredible to find so many accuracies, this sequel does not possess the required amount of originality to shine with its own light, so it hides behind the charms of the original. In addition, in the few minutes that it can shine, does it with risible twists and decisions, of which we must palliate if the scene was really worth.

With a superficially simple and essential script, Barrett can treasure big connections that revolve around the film, such as time alteration, space deformation and powers of the witch. Less spontaneous and genuine, potential and excessive secrecy in Wingard's film is rewarded with a flawless sound design, few cheap scares and a surprising photography. "Blair Witch" revives behind the shadows of the past, however, gets to deliver some part of the excitement and intrigue of the classic horror film.
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6
MarioGRSep 30, 2016
Fine horror movie but could had been BETTER.
It kept me in agony & in tension till the end.
It is exactly the same type of a film like the first original of 1999.
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4
dspratlinNov 19, 2016
What’s it about?

A bunch of twenty-somethings go exploring in a forest that’s apparently haunted by the Blair Witch. What did I think? If you’ve seen the original, you’ve seen this, but don’t let that scare you away because, despite that,
What’s it about?

A bunch of twenty-somethings go exploring in a forest that’s apparently haunted by the Blair Witch.

What did I think?

If you’ve seen the original, you’ve seen this, but don’t let that scare you away because, despite that, it’s still a really tautly directed and entertaining 85 minutes. The story is extremely light, but the jump scares are almost omnipresent as the film races towards the big conclusion. Its intensity will be loved by most horror fans though the familiarity of the journey does detract a bit.
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6
lillianjmDec 25, 2016
i am a massive fan of the first movie and this pays no justice to the first one. i liked some of the surprises in the movie but also got bored and easily confused which doesn't happen very often when i watch movies. i thought it was a decenti am a massive fan of the first movie and this pays no justice to the first one. i liked some of the surprises in the movie but also got bored and easily confused which doesn't happen very often when i watch movies. i thought it was a decent film just wouldn't ever rave about it to anyone. Expand
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4
FilipeNetoMay 22, 2022
The movie "Blair Witch Project" was so well executed and successful that it had to spawn more than one sequel. It was doomed to it. Even so, it is not understood that they were such bad sequels! If "Blair Witch 2" turned out to be totallyThe movie "Blair Witch Project" was so well executed and successful that it had to spawn more than one sequel. It was doomed to it. Even so, it is not understood that they were such bad sequels! If "Blair Witch 2" turned out to be totally forgettable, this movie isn't much better, even if it is considerably more faithful to the source material.

In practice, the film works as a sequel to the original. If BW2 shows us the efforts of a new film crew, which decides to go after the first one and do something new, this film brings us the way in which James, brother of Heather (the filmmaker of the initial film), looks for clues about what happened to her sister and forms a group that decides to camp there, look for traces, and of course, subject themselves to the same fate. Thanks to the script, I felt I was finally looking at a true follow-up to the story of "Blair Witch Project", and not a film that wanted to stick to the success of the initial film. That was the biggest strength of this movie.

The film is directed by Adam Wingard, who is not a horror newbie and has already given us a handful of films with some quality, like "You're Next". The director makes good use of the cards he has and knows how to guide the actors well, even if they are not big stars. On the positive side, I would like to highlight the work of James McCune, Corbin Reid and Wes Robinson. I think these three actors really deserve praise for their commitment and the way they did their job. It's ok... but the character construction is weak, and the story is sometimes confusing, which spoils the actors' work a bit.

Technically, the film opts for a minimalist approach where less is decidedly more: in addition to the obvious choice for the "found footage" style, which many criticize (I'm not a fan of this style of filming) but was the right choice in a Blair Witch movie, I would like to emphasize the purity of what we see, in that almost no computer effects or other visual effects were used. There are good sound effects and sound editing, and the editing of the film doesn't feel poorly executed. All of this is positive... what I really regret is that the film is not able to give us something really new or original, as all the scares I saw here were previously performed in the previous films and lost their originality and the ability to scare. Even so, the film can be a little scary thanks to the shaky shooting style, the screams and some jumping that intentionally provokes us. It's little, but it's something.
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5
WarpViperMar 10, 2019
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The movie has a lacking beginning. The character buildup doesn't start until around the 45 minute mark. However, the movie somewhat turns around towards the ending, as the intensity level rises. Definitely one of the scarier horror movies of 2016, but it lagged behind the original in almost every other aspect.

The movie also has some bad acting, mostly during the middle. Lane, one of the protagonists of the story, had some of the worst acting I have seen to date. Peter's death also had fairly unpleasant acting, but it wasn't awful. Anyways, let's talk about the positives of the film.

One good thing I can say about this film is that the ending was quite good compared to the rest of the movie. You can tell that they spent a lot of time on the end scene, but it still wasn't great, but it was decent. Another thing I must say is that this movie is very suspenseful. While some scenes rely just on jumpscares here, some are truly suspenseful.

Overall, the movie is not nearly as good as it's predecessor, and is not that good, but there is still some inspiration if you dig deep enough.
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6
clem666Apr 27, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is a true challenge to release another sequel to the 1999 movie. To launch it they obviously had to make connexions with this last movie. So we follow James' story who wants to find back her sister Heather, the heroine of 'The Blair Witch Project'. Does he really think she survived in this cursed forest for something like five years ?

This movie takes back the good old roots of the first feature but adds even more technology in it: the amount of hi-tech equipment the team has is just overwhelming. They have a drone, a dozen of high-quality and night cameras, knives and several GPS systems among others. Because yes, in this movie you are about to witness a bunch of amateurs successfully making fly a drone in the middle of a dense forest. Yeah why not. Obviously this famous drone will crash and lead to a horribly predictable scene later in the plot. Obviously the characters have to record and film everything they see and do including a lot of very boring tasks like interviews, arguments, terrible jokes and tents assembly. Obviously the beginning has to show the protagonists drinking alcohol and taunting each other. Obviously the final cut has to gather some weird shots punctuated by way too many cuts and freezes so that some scenes honestly become confusing and impossible to understand. Obviously this great equipment must stop working in the worst scenes and moments. Obviously the protagonists always have to constantly choose to split up in order to die and make the plot move on. Obviously the camera lenses, flashlights and batteries remain intact from beginning to the end despite all the events. In addition to it all characters obviously had to be caricatures of themselves.

In overall there are a lot of parts of it looking just like a video game. Charatcres control the drone with a hi-tech tablet, there are several scenes we see that are filmed in first person view, and the general pace makes the events go crescendo, just like the 'Outlast' games. The panting noises during the whole film quickly become unbearable. At the end of the tunnel, the ending scenes see the events coming to the apex and becoming way too incoherent, dizzy and confusing, making the whole movie look like a huge assemblage of typical horror movie ingredients mixed with few common sense. Even if some scenes are iconic and appear to be truly effective this doesn't erase the drafty plot process and the many unexplained and dull scenes.
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4
JLauSep 18, 2020
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Guy goes into the woods to look for his missing sister, films stuff, then does all of the things that got her killed in the first place. Expand
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5
acebadgerNov 2, 2020
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For me this movie lies somewhere in the average category of horror. They definitely build on the lore established from the first movie, but it could've been done better. Perhaps the biggest glaring issue for me was the showing of the "Witch" or creatures at the end. One of the biggest benefits the first movie had was not showing anything, coupling that with the sound design added to the unnerving nature of that film. This one shows the creature as a lanky, bloody thing that for me resembled the creature from the live action Scooby Doo movie. I think the better decision would've been to showing fleeting glimpses of different parts of the monster/"Witch".

I do like the expansion of the Witches ability to manipulate both time and the physical nature of the forest as it creates a sense of dread and hopelessness. They played with this in a clever way with the characters of Lane and Talia as they part from the group and experience time in a different flow from the main group. However, I think it would've been great to see the main group experience that time distortion as well. It would've been super unnerving for the main group to wake up "the next day" and for the guys to show signs of the passage of time with facial hair becoming prominent. The movie had its moments to be sure, but overall just did not live up to the original for me.
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